Running Scared
Running Scared is a case featured in Criminal Case as the fifty-fifth case of The Conspiracy (Season 5) and the two-hundred eighty-sixth case overall. It is the first one to take place in the Newmark district of Grimsborough. Plot The team headed to Newmark to rescue Gloria's ex-husband and son, Jake and Carter Hayes. Soon after Cathy reported shots getting fired at a construction site in Newmark, the player went there accompanied by Jones, who was taken out of indefinite leave after Zoe's murder. In a tube room there, however, they found Jake, shot dead with his hands tied, and Carter missing. During the investigation, the team learned that Ad Astra had left Jake and Carter to an accomplice before the murder. Shortly after, Cathy told the team she had tracked the (now-abandoned) van which the killer used to take Carter away from the construction site. Later, the team arrested construction site owner Clive Bloom for aiding and abetting in the kidnapping as he had given Rozetta Pierre free reign over the tube room. The team then calmed Gloria down after she hysterically tried to take over the investigation. Finally, the team found enough evidence to arrest Mayor Joe Warren's assistant, Mandy Pregodich, for the murder. Upon admitting to the murder, Mandy said that Mayor Warren had asked her to keep watch over Jake and Carter, telling her that Jake was a political enemy. Wanting to remain close to the city's most powerful man, she agreed. However, Jake had woken up and tried to escape, leading to a fight that culminated in Mandy shooting him dead and taking Carter away. After Judge Powell sentenced her to life in prison, she agreed to give away Carter's location in exchange for a lighter sentence. In prison, Mandy told the team that she left Carter in an abandoned garage near the hike and bike trail. The team then rescued Carter and reunited him with Gloria, after which he told them that Mandy was accompanied by a man who helped her with the kidnapping. Jones and the player searched the van for clues about Mandy's accomplice. There, they found the accomplice's face mask with hairs which (per Amir) belonged to Troy Cassidy. Upon the arrest, Troy told the team that Christian Bateman had looked him up and convinced him to join the operation in exchange for financial backing of his struggling microbrewery. The team then told Carter that they had caught his other captor and later found and returned the last toy that his father had given him. Meanwhile, in exchange for release from prison, Clive told Chief Parker and the player that he had overheard Rozetta saying things that implied her mom was the "puppeteer". He also said that more strangers were hanging around the construction site after Rozetta's call and so the team went to the site, where they found a money envelope with fingerprints which (per Cathy) belonged to homeless vet Danny Williams. Danny said that a woman had paid him to look out for three people fitting the descriptions of Rozetta, Bateman, and Warren. With Danny's physical description of the woman, the team concluded that it was Denise Daniels who had paid Danny. After all the events, the team decided to go to S.A.R.A. to confront Denise about her surveillance of Ad Astra. Summary Victim *'Jake Hayes' (found shot at a construction site) Murder Weapon *'Handgun' Killer *'Mandy Pregodich' Suspects C286P1.png|Danny Williams C286P2.png|Clive Bloom C286P3.png|Troy Cassidy C286P4.png|Mandy Pregodich C286P5.png|James Savage Quasi-suspect(s) C286PQ1.png|Carter Hayes Killer's Profile *The killer has a cough. *The killer wears running shoes. *The killer eats Take It Cheesy snacks. *The killer has scratches. *The killer has red hair. Crime Scenes C286CS1A.jpg|Tube Room C286CS1B.jpg|Mattress C286CS2A.jpg|Construction Site C286CS2B.jpg|Construction Machines C286CS3A.jpg|Getaway Van C286CS3B.jpg|Van Interior Steps Chapter 1 *Investigate Tube Room. (Clues: Duffle Bag, Locked Camera, Victim's Body; Victim identified: Jake Hayes) *Examine Duffle Bag. (Result: Old Photo Soldier) *Examine Unknown Soldier. (New Suspect: Danny Williams) *Ask Danny Williams if he saw suspicious activity at the site. (Prerequisite: Danny Williams identified; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Construction Site) *Investigate Construction Site. (Prerequisite: Danny interrogated; Clues: Broken Pendant, Faded Clipboard) *Examine Broken Pendant. (Result: Restored Pendant; New Suspect: Troy Cassidy) *Ask Troy Cassidy about his pendant being near the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Pendant restored) *Examine Faded Clipboard. (Result: Logo on Clipboard; New Suspect: Clive Bloom) *Question Clive Bloom about his company's clipboard being near the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Logo on Clipboard unraveled) *Examine Locked Camera. (Result: Monitoring Camera) *Analyze Monitoring Camera. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears running shoes) *Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer has a cough) *Go to Chapter 2. (No stars) Chapter 2 *Investigate Getaway Van. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Zip Tie Box, Faded Card, Pile of Clothes) *Examine Zip Tie Box. (Result: Orange Powder) *Analyze Orange Powder. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer eats Take It Cheesy snacks; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Construction Machines) *Investigate Construction Machines. (Prerequisite: Orange Powder analyzed; Clues: Locked Phone, Torn Paper) *Examine Locked Phone. (Result: Unlocked Phone) *Analyze Unlocked Phone. (12:00:00) *Confront Clive Bloom about the message from Rozetta. (Prerequisite: Unlocked Phone analyzed; Profile updated: Clive has a cough, wears running shoes and eats Take It Cheesy snacks) *Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Termination Letter) *Question Danny Williams about his relationship to the victim. (Prerequisite: Termination Letter restored; Profile updated: Danny eats Take It Cheesy snacks) *Examine Faded Card. (Result: Card Owner; New Suspect: Mandy Pregodich) *Question Mandy Pregodich about being near the van. (Prerequisite: Card Owner unraveled; Profile updated: Mandy wears running shoes) *Examine Pile of Clothes. (Result: Dog Collar; New Suspect: James Savage) *Ask James Savage what he's doing naked by the van. (Prerequisite: Dog Collar found; Profile updated: James has a cough) *Go to Chapter 3. (No stars) Chapter 3 *Investigate Van Interior. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Ninja Hamster Toy, Locked Box, Faded Agenda) *Examine Ninja Hamster Toy. (Result: Gooey Substance) *Examine Gooey Substance. (Result: Dog Saliva; Profile updated: James wears running shoes) *Ask James Savage why we found Carter's toy covered in his dog's drool. (Prerequisite: Dog Saliva identified under microscope; Profile updated: James eats Take It Cheesy snacks) *Examine Locked Box. (Result: Van Papers) *Analyze Van Papers. (09:00:00) *Confront Troy Cassidy about his ownership of the van. (Prerequisite: Van Papers analyzed) *Examine Faded Agenda. (Result: Agenda Notes) *Question Mandy Pregodich about the instructions she received from Mayor Warren. (Prerequisite: Agenda Notes unraveled; Profile updated: Mandy has a cough and eats Take It Cheesy snacks) *Investigate Mattress. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Bloody Snack Bag, Construction Rubble) *Examine Bloody Snack Bag. (Result: Light Blue Powder) *Analyze Light Blue Powder. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer has scratches) *Examine Construction Rubble. (Result: Handgun Found) *Analyze Handgun. (09:00:00; Murder Weapon registered: Handgun; Attribute: The killer has red hair) *Take care of the killer now! *Go to Endgame (1/6). (No stars) Endgame (1/6) *Grill Mandy Pregodich about Carter's location. (Available after unlocking Endgame) *Investigate Getaway Van. (Prerequisite: Mandy interrogated; Clue: Face Mask) *Examine Face Mask. (Result: Hairy Substance) *Analyze Hairy Substance. (09:00:00) *Arrest Troy Cassidy. (Prerequisite: Hairy Substance analyzed) *Tell Carter Hayes about Cassidy's arrest. (Prerequisite: Troy interrogated; Reward: Burger) *Investigate Van Interior. (Prerequisite: Carter interrogated; Clue: Broken Toy) *Examine Broken Toy. (Result: Plane Toy) *Give Carter Hayes his toy. (Prerequisite: Plane Toy restored; Reward: Ninja Hamster Mask) *See what Clive Bloom wants. (Prerequisite: Mandy interrogated) *Investigate Construction Machines. (Prerequisite: Clive interrogated; Clue: Money Envelope) *Examine Money Envelope. (Result: Fingerprints) *Analyze Fingerprints. (06:00:00) *Ask Danny Williams about the money. (Prerequisite: Fingerprints analyzed; Reward: 20,000 Coins) *Move on to a new crime! (No stars) Trivia *The case's title is a reference to the 2006 crime thriller film of the same name. *This is one of the cases in which more than one suspect is arrested. *This is one of the cases in which the killer has to be interrogated once again during the Additional Investigation. *Although Jones is the player's partner during the investigation, Gloria is the one who appears in the player's teammate selection screen when they investigate a crime scene in this case. *Take It Cheesy is a parody of Cheetos. Navigation Category:Cases Category:Cases in The Conspiracy Category:Newmark